GOP must not yoke its future to Trumpism

The following is from a New York Daily News editorial:

Turns out, aside from a loss on top of the ticket, the 2020 election was pretty good for Republicans — and no, that’s not like saying, “Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?”

The GOP looks poised to hold the Senate, made gains in the House, and maintained or even widened control of state legislatures, which means they ’ll control gerrymandering — er, redistricting — when the 2020 census results roll in.

There’s even good news for the party in Donald Trump’s loss: Even as suburbanites and independent voters drifted away, he boosted his performance among Latinos and Blacks.

All of which is to say: Today ’s GOP will be powerfully tempted to keep doing what it’s been doing for the last four years, following the lead of the magnetic but maniacal man who still dominates imaginations. There are even already rumblings of Trump 2024.

Republicans must, must, must turn away from Trump. To remain in his thrall is to embrace dark, unfounded conspiracies about stolen elections, a grievance mentality that eats away like rapid rust at the foundation of American democracy.

It is to aggressively pit cities against suburbs, conservative states against liberal ones, Blacks against whites.

It is to discard the best advice of public health professionals, to pretend that the mere act of wearing a mask to prevent the spread of a deadly contagion is an assault on personal freedom.

Republicans will have to fight it out among themselves either to keep Trump’s hard line on immigration and trade or revert to previous stances that are more in line with the American majority. This is a legitimate policy debate, as are arguments about government spending and America’s role in the world.

But Trump and Trumpism are poison. Stop swallowing.

Aside from a loss on top of the ticket, the election was pretty good for Republicans.